Garden and Pickles

Garden

Our garden is starting to produce. I don't think I wrote about the garden yet, so I'll just sum it up right here. A few weeks ago (I think), I took some pictures of our garden. The tomato plants grew huge and so did the cucumber plants. Mom and I pruned the tomato plants because they were too crowded and not getting enough sun. As we were doing it, we found the first of the red tomatoes. We had quite a bit of cherry tomatoes. We've had alot of cucumbers. We've eaten about five or six now and we made about eight into pickles. Well, they're turning into pickles. But that's another story. Our cantaloupe plants have gone crazy though they're not producing yet. The strawberry plants are doing fine—but we're not getting anything from them. Thieving squirrels! So far we got about two or three strawberries that the squirrels didn't find. We can thank the cantaloupe plants for that. We also have a few cantaloupes growing (that we know of). Right now it looks more like a watermelon though. :) Well, here are some pictures of the garden.

Cherry tomatoes

Tomatoes

This is my favorite tomato picture

Peppers

A pepper
Mini cucumbers
Bigger cucumbers
A vine

Another vine

Strawberries. I like this picture because it shows
the strawberries in three different stages.
Two cantaloupes
One of the bigger cantaloupes
The biggest cantaoupeThe whole garden

My attempt at getting a picture of a bee in a flower.

Just so you know, this was from several weeks ago. Everything is alot bigger now. *Phew* That took alot of time. Well that's a pretty good summary of the garden. Now for the pickles.....

Pickles

A few days ago, Mom and I made pickles. It was a first experience because last year we didn't grow cucumbers. We found a recipe for pickles and started slicing cucumbers. After putting those in jars and putting some dill leaves in with the slices, we started making the, what do you call it, marinade? Pickle juice? Something like that..... We poured the marinade pickle juice stuff in the jars and screwed on the lids. Now we have to wait about a month before eating them. After a couple of days of sitting on the counter, though, they already smelled like pickles. A wonderful smell..... Anyway, here are some of the pictures I got.

The cucumbers
The sliced cucumbers
Mom putting cucumber slices into a jar
The filled jar
Four jars of pickles
Same from a different view

Six jars of pickles

Well, that's all for the garden and pickles. We tried some of the pickles. They were really good! Well, hope you enjoyed the post or at least the pictures.

-Jaime-

Result Of Three Wishes

Tonight a funny conversation came up about how we three kids came to be. At the time we were in the bathroom brushing our teeth. Here's the basics of what was said.


Will: No, no, we came from a genie lamp. We were the result of three wishes. (Points to me, himself, and Jaime) Daughter, son, daughter.

Courtney: Yeah, Mom wished for that, but what she got was (Points to myself, Will, and Jaime) daughter, son, MONKEY!

Jaime: No! She got (Points to me, Will, and herself) BRAT, son, monkey!

Courtney: Yeah, I was the result of a wish gone bad.

Will: A bad wish!


-Courtney-

The Beautiful Side Of Evil

I just recently finished reading The Beautiful Side Of Evil, by Johanna Michaelsen. It's a very interesting story about this lady, Johanna (the author), who had demons manifest themselves to her ever since she was a kid.

Eventually, when she grew up, she became a personal assistant to a psychic surgeon, Pachita. Through Pachita, this Hermanito character (obviously a demon), manifests itself and does miraculous healings.

For 14 monthes Johanna works with her (or perhaps I should say "it") doing surgery after surgery. Eventually God reveals to Johanna just what in the world she's been playing with.

It's really a good book, and I think everyone should read it. If you'd like to see what the back of the book actually says, here it is:

This is a true account of a young woman who, while in search of spiritual truth, became a personal assistant to a psychic surgeon in Mexico for 14 months. Then, in answer to her prayers, God revealed the true source behind the miraculous healings she witnessed. Lifting the veil of deception, He allowed her to see the evil behind the outward appearance of beauty and holiness. Johanna Michaelsen reveals how this deadly deception is not isolated to her unusual experience but rather is invading our everyday lives, even our churches.

Allow me to add, there is a bit of the false doctrine of Eternal Security (also known as Once Saved Always Saved). Just warning you.

-Courtney-

Braces (They're Coming Off!!!!)

That would be brace face down there. =)‡)


Guess what?! I should be getting my braces off by the end of the summer!!!! ...along with Will (so wrong). Any hoot, that's all I've got to say. I'm really happy about it!!!

I'm going to have to choose between a plastic retainer and a metal retainer. I think I'm going to go with metal when the time comes to choose. It may allow my teeth to move a bit more, but at least it won't get all filthy inside.

-Courtney-

The Slip

Jaime and I went for a bike ride over to the tennis court. Well, we decided to toss some water on the (what do you call it?) shuffleboard, so that we could slide across it. Once we poured the water on, Jaime and I began sliding; it was so fun!....until....

Jaime ran in to slide across the shuffleboard, and she must not have been ready for it because she slipped backwards and went sliding across the shuffleboard on her back a few feet. The sight was, to tell you the truth, hysterical, and I couldn't help but laugh.

Jaime wasn't too happy about it all. For one thing, her entire back was soaked. Also, there were kids walking down the road, and she didn't really want to be seen like that.

We decided to race home. I went behind her so nobody could see her soaking wet back.

-Courtney-

Seeds Family Worship Coupon Code!!!!!!

Hey, guys! Guess what? I got a coupon code for Seeds Family Worship's store. (Seeds Family Worship is a Christian music group that makes all of their songs based on the Word of God. Their music is awesome, and if you would like to listen to their songs online, you can go here: http://www.seedsfamilyworship.net/media_listen.php)


Back to the coupon code. I got a coupon code that will allow you to purchase anything from their store (cds, t-shirts, etc) for 20% off. The code is "Eivarlost09". That would be a zero & a nine, by the way (so you don't go thinking the zero is an 'o').

If you'd like to check out their store, go here: http://www.seedsmusicstore.com/

This code (Eivarlost09) will expire on December 9, 2009, so if you're interested in buying, you'd better do it now.

-Courtney-

Something Just Happened

Something just happened to my TV the other day. It's really weird. While I was on my laptop, my TV, just out of the blue, turned itself on and off. Next thing I knew, whenever I tried to turn it on, it would stay on for about 30 seconds then flick itself off! Also, for some reason, the TV's VCR (it's built into the TV) has been acting really weird whenever the TV is turned on. It's been opening and closing itself. Now it won't even go back normal; the little cover thing (I don't know what you call it) is sticking partially inside.

Now what am I going to do?

-Courtney-

Todays Big Story: Gone for a Walk

♥ Annie ♥


Today, Will took Annie (our pitbull) outside and left for a few minutes to do something. Next thing you know, he goes back outside, and she's not there. So we, me, Will, and Jaime, start searching for her everywhere. (Mom was at the dentist.)

Then Will and Jaime start getting all frantic. They take off around the block in search of her. Not halfway around the block, they find her with some black guys.

Well, as soon as they got her home, Annie, through me, starts explaining that she was just taking a walk, and that she figured she was plenty old enough to go by herself. She also told them about her new friends.

Jaime and Will, though, didn't think it was funny. (Too serious about things!) I also made the "you give her an inch, and she takes a mile" comment because yesterday we let Annie come out to the edge of the yard by the road and today she started to go around the block. Of course, she only really made it 1/16th of a mile, but you know....

-Courtney-

The Prayer Of A Girl Following Jesus

Dear Lord,

Thank you for everything you've given to me. Thank you for my wonderful family and my Mom who faithfully teaches me more and more about you. You truly have used her to lead me closer to you. Thank you also for your Word, and that in this country we still can read it. Thank you also for spilling your blood on that cross for me. Thank you, Lord.

Lord, please forgive me for all the wrong I do. Forgive me for letting my tongue get out of hand and hurting people with my words. Oh Lord, I have such a hard time keeping my mouth shut! Help me, please help me, to do better. Lord, help me not to fight over every little thing. I don't know why I do these stupid things that I do. Help me to change. And help me to be a servant and to humble myself. Help me to be able to give up things that I want so that others can have what they want. Give me patience and all the fruits of the Spirit that I am lacking. Lord, I need so much help!

Lord God, show me where I'm going wrong, and put me where I need to be. Change me according to Your will. I want only to serve You because I know that if I serve Self, then I will end up in Hell. Either serve Self (in other words, Satan) or God. I choose you, Lord! Let Your will be done in my life! If I try to take control of my own life, I'll only end up in a ditch (Hell). You take the wheel! Lead me.

Jesus, give me wisdom! Don't let me stay a fool for the rest of my life. I am a fool! Give me wisdom! I want to be wise in all that I do! Help me not to be foolish but, rather, wise.

Help me not to ever turn away from You, Lord. Help me to walk the straight and narrow path, and, though I may trip and fall sometimes, help me to get right back up and continue following after You. Help me not to turn to the righthand or to the left. Help me when I fight the temptations that come. Give me the strength I need when I need it. Help me not to ever give in to Satan!

God, I despise sin! I hate it, and I hate when I do it! Sin is what kills a person. It is what will drag a person down to Hell, if they continue in it. God, help me to fight it, and put all my heart into fighting it!

Help me to be a witness for you. Help me to show people that sin will lead them to eternal damnation in Hell if they do not repent of it and turn away from it. Help me to reveal to people what sin really is. You can't play with fire and not get burned! Sin is the pathway to death! Sin is what this is all about! Sin...I can't wait until I'm sinLESS.

Lord God, help those people who don't truly know you (though they may think they do) to come to know you. Help them to see that they are sinners and in great danger of Hell. Help them to see that we don't witness just to put them down. We witness because we truly care about their souls. We don't want them to be damned to Hell; we want to see them in Heaven rejoicing!

Lord, please help other Believers who are going through all sorts of different things. Hard times, difficulties, persecutions, sickness, You know what they're going through. Please give them the strength they need to get through it. Comfort them. Encourage them. Help them in any way that You choose, Lord. And help them to follow you through it all.

As for the unbelievers who are going through things, use their difficulties to help them to come to know You truly. Show them Yourself through it all.

Please, God, help the truth seekers to find you through whatever means possible. Reveal Yourself to them. You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life as John 14:6 says. What a powerful verse! You are the Way. One Way, Jesus. You are the Truth. You are Truth! Life. The only way to truly live is through You, Lord. You give us Life. You are our Life! Powerful verse.

Jesus, please protect our minds. Keep wicked thoughts away from us. Help us to dwell on pure things. (Philippians 4:8) Help us to continue, also, to seek after You in all things, not neglecting to study Your Word. After all, Your Word is what keeps us alive. Anyone not reading Your Word (who has access to the Scriptures) and putting it into practice is NOT a true believer. A true believer wants to know You, not just spout off all their problems before they go to bed at night. I want to follow You, Lord!

If I've missed anything, then I pray for that also. May the righteous be blessed, and may Your name be proclaimed throughout the world! Thank You, Lord.

Amen and may Your will be done in my life and throughout the world!


-Courtney Robinson-

Love - What is love?

What is love? So many people today obviously don't have a clue. Love isn't just a feeling. Love isn't just words; it is what we do. Love is giving up for someone else. Love giving 100% when the other person is only giving 50. Love is giving all you have to serve the other person even if they hate your guts. Love is telling those in danger that they are in danger!

Jesus is the perfect example of love. When Jesus gave Himself up to be sacrificed for the world (wicked sinners) on the cross, He gave us the perfect example of love. We murdered Him, we killed Him. By our sin we killed Him! He didn't have to die. He could of just simply tossed us all into Hell, but He, being a merciful and loving God, decided to give us a chance.

He allowed His murderers to spit in His face. He allowed Himself to be made a mockery in front of everyone. And not once through it all did He speak a word. The only thing He ever spoke was what was spoken in silence: I love you. By His death, by His giving up Himself for a selfish, pleasure loving, sinful people, He told us that He loved us!

This is what love is! It's not just a word. It's not lust. It's giving up yourself for someone else. Jesus gave Himself up for you. Can you do the same for someone else? There are so many ways to give yourself up for others. Stop being selfish. Give up self for others. Give up self for God.


-Courtney-

Believe In Yourself And Follow Your Heart???

Follow your heart....it has been said many times on television, in movies, books, etc. This is most definitely NOT what we should do. Telling someone to follow their heart is basically telling them to go and kill themselves.

Jeremiah 17:9

*** “ The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it? ***

The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked!! Why would you follow it? A person who chooses to follow his/her heart is NOT following God and is going to end up in Hell. The 'follow your heart' message is of the devil! HE wants you to follow your heart! GOD wants you to follow HIM. Read your Bibles and do not follow these lying cliches.

'Believe in yourself' is another thing people like to say. It is also a message of Satan. Where in the Bible has God EVER said that we need to believe in ourselves??? NOWHERE!!!! In fact, He says the opposite! God says that we MUST NOT put our trust in ourselves or in any other besides God Himself. We must put our trust in God ALONE. We must believe in Him because we, as humans, are liable to fall, while God remains true no matter what.

2 Corinthians 1:9

*** we should not trust in ourselves but in God ***

Satan wants you to believe these lies, 'follow your heart' and 'believe in yourself', because he does NOT want you to follow after God. He wants you to do what you want, so that you do NOT do what God wants. He wants you to follow self instead of God! God, however, wants you to follow Him, read His Word and obey Him. Following self is going to lead to destruction in Hell fire while following God, to eternal life in Heaven with Him. I choose God. What do you choose?


-Courtney-

THE TEST - Will you pass?

Many people have found themselves asking that same question: what is this life about? And: What are we here for? The answer to those questions is that this life is nothing but a test. God created the world and placed man in it in order to test him/her. (By 'man' I simply mean people) But man sinned, and was therefore separated from God. This world is imperfect because of our sin. All have sinned.


Romans 3:23
***for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,***


But, Jesus Christ died to save ALL people. He desires ALL men to be saved. God (or Jesus Christ) came to earth in the form of man. He remained sinless throughout His life up until the very end when He was to die on the cross to pay for our sins. He died the death of a murderer and a sinner. He died for us.


1 Timothy 2: 3-6

***For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,***


Now here is where the test comes in. Whether or not you will choose God is your choice. You can either choose the choice of accepting His free gift of salvation unto eternal life (which will result in passing the test), or you can choose to reject Him and His free gift, continuing in your sin which will lead to eternal damnation in Hell (failing the test). Your choices in life will determine where you will go when you die.

This life is only a test! You must choose God, your Creator (whether you believe in Him or not), and OBEY Him. Let me tell you, it is not legalism to obey God!


John 14:21
***He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.***


If you love God, you are going to be obedient to Him. A sinner has no inheritance in the things of God. A sinner will BY NO MEANS enter Heaven. Heaven is for the Godly person. Heaven is for the righteous one.

This is a test, nothing more than a test. It is a test to see who will willingly serve God and who will rebel, desiring to serve themselves in their own sinful lusts. A Christian, though not completely free from sin (but we will be when we are taken to Heaven with Christ, that is, as long as we hold fast), will not serve sin.


Romans 6:11-13

***Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.***


A Christian will serve the Lord in all that they do, though failing at times. We don't love God in word only, but in all that we do. Anyone can say they love you, but if they don't show it in their actions, do they truly love you? ...or is it just words without meaning? No Christian has the desire to live in sin. Yes, we are tempted and do sin sometimes, but we must get back up and continue fighting the good fight against sin and all that is evil.


1 John 3: 18-19

***Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence***


....a test...


Zechariah 13: 8-9

***“ That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die,
But one-third shall be left in it:
I will bring the one-third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”***


Christ will refine us as gold or silver is refined. He will put us through tribulation (the refining) in order to test us to see if we will really follow Him to the very end. Some will fall away, but those who remain true to God will be as refined silver or gold. We will be without blemish (or without fault), cleased from sin through Jesus' dieing on the cross, and refined (or perfected) through persecution. When we die or are taken to Heaven with Him (in the rapture), we will be as pure gold. We will never have to go through any more tribulation. The test will be over.

....But it is not over yet! Choose who you will follow now! Jesus Christ who died in your place, or Satan who cares nothing for you except that you continue in sin and perish in Hell with Him. Don't be rebellious; you will regret it in the end! Choose today who you will follow!


Joshua 24:15

***...choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve....***


God bless!


-Courtney-

What Is A True Christian And How Do You Know If You Are Saved?

A true Christian is, to put it quite simply, a person who follows the Bible and does what it says. A true Christian OBEYS God and has NO pleasure in sin. A true Christian will HATE their sin. They will sin, don't get me wrong, but they do not WANT to sin because it displeases God. A Christian is a person currently obeying God.

THEIR IS NO ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED! That is the lie of the devil. That is the same lie that the serpent (Satan speaking from it) told Eve in the Garden of Eden. "You shall not surely die," he said. Basically he was saying that you can disobey God and not be punished.

The Bible, however, says differently. The Bible, throughout both the New and the Old Testament (if you will only read it for yourself), says very clearly that those disobedient will get what they deserve, eternal damnation in Hell.

But, who are the disobedient? Who are those who will be tossed into Hell? Let me show you by this verse.


1 Corinthians 6:9-14 (New King James Version)

***Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.***


Those who love God obey Him. It's as simple as that.


John 14:21 (NKJV)

***He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”***


You want to know if you are truly saved? Look at these verses below.


1 John 2:3-11 (NKJV)


***Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.***


Do you think you are truly saved, or have you been deceived? So many have been deceived into thinking that God doesn't care what you do, that once you are saved, you are always saved. But, as the Bible says, God sees the wicked everyday and hates sin. He will NOT allow sin into Heaven. As long as you are following Jesus, you will be saved, but if you get off the path that leads to life, you have death coming to you.

Stop sinning and repent. Read the Bible and do what it says. Christ can save you if you'll only let Him. God bless!


(Sorry if I'm a bit rambly. It's just that one thing always seems to lead to another.)


-Courtney-

Seeds Family Worship

Seeds Family Worship is a Christian worship group that uses scripture for all of their songs. They're pretty cool, and they have 5 different albums free to listen to online. Check it out here: http://www.seedsfamilyworship.net/media_listen.php

-Courtney-

Board Breaking Video

Hey, everyone! Jaime tested Saturday (in Taekwondo) for her advanced red belt. She did awesome as usual, and I managed to get some great board breaking clips with my digital camera.

For the next few hours of the day, I spent my time editing this video which I've posted below. Hope you enjoy!

-Courtney-